"Right Vanguard Officer Lin Tian, receive your orders!"
"Lin Tian is here!"
"I order Right Vanguard Officer Lin Tian to lead the Right Vanguard Camp to depart for Maling, near Han in three days. Await my command, then attack Maling at any time!"
"Yes!"
Maling in Han was not a famous place. The only time its name was known was probably when the military genius Sun Bin killed the famous Wei general Pang Juan there, avenging the gouging of his kneecaps.
However, next to Maling, there was a city that was different.
Its name was Xinzheng, the capital of Han.
Once Maling was captured, Lin Tian would be within striking distance of the Han capital, Xinzheng.
From such an order, it could be seen that General Teng intended to launch a full-scale attack on Han, wishing to conquer the state.
As expected, the document General Teng gave to Lin Tian stated it very clearly.
He would lead the main force to attack Yangcheng in Han, then Xincheng in Han, and finally, he would march directly on the Han capital, Xinzheng.
Xincheng in Han was in a similar location to Maling, both being near the Han capital, Xinzheng.
However, relatively speaking, Xincheng was larger and a bit further from the capital Xinzheng.
Therefore, it would be quite troublesome to attack all the way from Yangcheng.
General Teng arranged for Lin Tian to go near Maling. After he had lured away the main Han forces, Lin Tian would then launch a surprise attack on Maling. At that time, Xinzheng of Han would be vulnerable from the front and back.
But Maling was one of Han's military strongholds, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Without true elite soldiers and generals, it would be impossible to capture Maling.
If it were not for Lin Tian's exceptional combat prowess, with a strength to contend with a thousand men, General Teng would not have assigned this task to Lin Tian.
Upon seeing the mission requirements, Lin Tian immediately began his preparations.
He needed to prepare some siege equipment to facilitate his attack on Maling later.
Three days later, Lin Tian led the Right Vanguard Camp and set off.
Others did not know their destination.
General Teng's order was conveyed secretly by his personal guards, so even the members of the Right Vanguard Camp did not know.
They only knew that they had followed Lin Tian for several days, then found a place to set up camp.
After that, training stopped. Apart from the patrols, most of them had to remain quiet.
They had to maintain a state of relative silence, only then would they not be discovered by the enemy.
However, they remained silent for five consecutive days without any news, which made many people restless.
"General, we have been here for five days. Why has there been no action yet?"
"Yes! We have been lying low for five days. If we lie any longer, I feel like I'm going to become an invalid!"
"General, give us an order to kill the enemy! We have been lying here these past few days, I know every mosquito within a five-mile radius!"
The vanguard soldiers were inherently a group of hot-blooded and proud individuals.
After training with Lin Tian for a month, they could no longer hold back and wanted to test their combat effectiveness.
But now, although they had been led out by Lin Tian, they had been lying low here.
Besides mosquitoes, they had not seen a single enemy.
This was truly unbearable for them. Every single one of them wanted to go out and fight.
However, Lin Tian raised his eyelids and said,
"What? You want to go out and kill people?"
"We do! We dream about it!!"
"Then do you want to kill one or two people and gain a small merit, or do you want the merit of conquering cities and expanding territory?"
"Of course, it's the merit of conquering cities and expanding territory!"
The men of the Right Vanguard Camp answered instinctively.
It was only after they had answered that they belatedly realized.
"Ah? Are we hiding here for the merit of conquering cities and expanding territory?"
"Yes!"
Lin Tian nodded gently and answered the question.
This answer was like a heavenly melody to the others.
"Hahaha! I knew it. Following Brother Tian always leads to good things!"
"The General is worthy of being a General. He doesn't move, but when he does, it's for great deeds!"
"General, the way you do things suddenly makes me not sleepy. No, I need to do more push-ups to keep my physical fitness at its peak!"
Although the men of the Right Vanguard Camp did not know where Lin Tian was leading them to attack, the mere words "conquering cities and expanding territory" were enough to make everyone excited.
In the following days, the men of the Right Vanguard Camp remained in a state of silence.
However, each of them was working hard to maintain their physical fitness and not slack off.
Their hearts were filled with ardor.
This state lasted for five days.
Ten days later, Lin Tian finally received the order from General Teng.
"The main forces at Maling have been drawn into Xincheng by us. The time is ripe to act. You may now attack Maling!"
Upon seeing this order, Lin Tian's eyes lit up.
Soon, he gave the order:
"All troops advance! Target, Maling in Han!"
"Yes!"
As Lin Tian's order was given, the entire Right Vanguard Camp moved.
They were all excited and moved quickly.
Hearing that they were to attack Maling, they roughly understood what they had to do.
Maling was near Xinzheng, the capital of Han. If they captured Maling, they would be close to Xinzheng.
If they were lucky enough to breach the gates of Xinzheng.
Then it would not just be the merit of conquering cities and expanding territory, but the supreme merit of destroying a nation.
If they truly accomplished this, their names would be remembered for eternity.
Therefore, on the road to Maling, not a single person asked for rest, all of them holding back their energy.
An hour later, they arrived outside Maling city.
At this time, the people in Maling city were not paying much attention to the situation outside the city. They were more concerned about whether Xincheng in Han could hold.
So, when Lin Tian, leading an army of five thousand, appeared outside Maling city, the soldiers within Maling city were in a panic.
"Bad! Enemy attack! Enemy attack! The Qin army is here!!"
"Beat the gong, quickly beat the gong! Everyone enter combat readiness!!"
"Defend the city, defend the city quickly!!"
Lin Tian's sudden arrival caught the people of Maling city off guard.
Fortunately, Lin Tian's numbers were not large, only a few thousand men. And Maling city still had three thousand troops, so they could still defend.
Of course, this was only their assumption.
The reality was far from their imagination.
When Lin Tian discovered that Maling city had not yet fully entered a state of combat readiness, he did not let his men in the Right Vanguard Camp rest.
Instead, he directly ordered:
"Soldiers, the opportunity to conquer cities and expand territory is before us. Have you not always wanted to see my combat prowess?"
"Follow me, and attack the city!!"
"Kill!!"
Lin Tian charged at the forefront, which invigorated all the soldiers.
At this moment, a surge of strength returned to many of their bodies.
Without any hesitation, they followed Lin Tian and launched the most ferocious charge against Maling city.
...